The Dragon Thieves//Charlie Weasley

12 ~ Protection

Lia braced her hands on her knees and leaned over. She could still feel the spinning of apparition in her ears. She had hated it when she had to learn it and she hated it now. If she could, she would ride Helena everywhere, but a massive green dragon landing on the rooftops of Diagon Alley might draw some unwanted attention.

They had arrived just outside the barrier, and Lia straightened, following the other riders through it. There was a faint sparking in her ears, and the barrier settled around her. She sighed, both relieved and unhappy to be home. 

She jogged until she caught up to Charlie. They hadn't spoken about the Triwizard Tournament,  and if Lia could help it, never would. They had all returned early. Andrew was still in England, dealing with the release of the dragons.

"What do you think about telling Vester and Simon what is going on?"

Charlie glanced at her through dark eyelashes. "Can we trust them?"

Lia nodded without even considering. She had known them for a long time, and they had had each other's backs countless times. "Yes."

"Okay, let's do it right now."

Lia jogged forward, to where Vester and Simon were walking towards the mess hall. She could hear Charlie following her, his boots crunching on the ground. 

Gently, she wrapped her hands around their elbows. "We need to talk, as a group."

Ensuring that the new recruits were nowhere nearby, Lia began to tug them in the direction of the nursery, where Jason would no doubt be hiding away. The gravelly dirt floor of the arena crunched under them. There was a distinct chill in the air, whipping at Lia's dark hair. No doubt that snow would soon begin to accompany it.

They ducked into the stables and the heat of multiple fires quickly washed over them. Lia was almost surprised at the sigh of relief that echoed out of her as Helena's emerald head popped up from behind a stone wall. The dragon let out a chatter and her head stretched over to brush against Lia. Beside her, the other three riders were greeting their dragons.

Jason's head popped out of the nursery and Lia smiled at him. There were dark bags under his eyes and his hair was tied back in a messy ponytail. 

"Thank god you are back," He breathed, stepping out of the nursery entrance and coming over to hug her. 

Lia's eyes widened, somewhat surprised at the affection from the normally non-affectionate man, but she hugged him back, letting him breathe for a moment. 

"Did anything happen while we were gone?" Her heart began to sink. What if the thieves had taken advantage of the fact that barely anyone was home?

Jason shook his head. "No, I think Andrew needs to be here for anything to happen."

Simon's voice piped up behind her, over from where he was brushing a hand over his dragon's scales. "What is going on?"

Lia sighed, her eyes bouncing between the faces of the four males in front of her. Charlie was watching her with warm eyes, somehow encouraging her without saying anything. It was enough to make her feel somewhat fuzzy. 

Lia took in a deep breath, and she told them everything. The eggs vanishing. The ritual she had seen. The damage done to the nursery. The files they had stolen and left with Charlie's brother's girlfriend. Every single thing that had been occurring over the past several months, and everything she and Jason and Charlie had tried to do to stop it. 

When she finally stopped, the sun had begun to dip below the horizon, and they were all seated on the dusty straw-riddled floor of the nursery. Vester's face was long, his head resting on his knees-- a strangely childish position for someone so lanky. Simon was next to him, his head resting against his dragon, whose head was resting in his lap. 

Helena had curled up into an impossibly small ball next to Lia, and now, her hand was running over her emerald scales. How anyone could ever harm such creatures, let alone defenseless infants was beyond her. 

Simon let out a long sigh, dragging a hand down his face. "So what do we do now?"

Lia paused. She didn't know, but they were all looking at her. She paused, thinking. "We need to keep the dragons safe, at least until we can figure out how to stop Andrew and whoever he is working with."

"What about shifts?" Charlie spoke. He was leaning back against his white dragon, his scales glimmering in the low light. "We could take turns watching the dragons, so they are never alone, and it would give Jason time to rest."

Lia nodded, pointing at Charlie. "We should do that, and in the meantime, we can look into more protective spells, and maybe a trap or two to try and catch the perpetrator." There was no use trying to bring the ministry into it, not when they didn't know the true operations happening.

Lia scanned their faces, relieved to find a willful determination. An inkling of hope popped up. Maybe they could finally stop the dragon thieves. 

~~~

Lia walked down the long hall towards her room, faintly aware of Charlie behind her. She paused in front of her door, about to open it up and go inside. His footsteps picked up. 

Lia opened the door, about to go inside. Charlie's hand graced her elbow.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?"

Lia stiffened and took a step into her room. Charlie followed her and she didn't stop him. 

"No, I don't."

He was speaking about the Hogwarts visit. Lia had been hoping to avoid any mention of her family and what had happened, but that didn't seem likely.

"You know," Charlie spoke, settling down on the comfy chair she kept in the corner as Lia kicked off her boots. "It can be healthy to talk about your feelings."

Lia glared at him as she unbuttoned her jacket, chucking it into a laundry hamper. His eyes followed her hands and she turned as she flushed pink, recalling the way his lips felt.

"I don't want to talk about my family or my feelings regarding them. We cut each other off. It was mutual. That's all you need to know."

She knew that he was well aware of more, but she walked towards him. He spread his legs and she stepped between them, bracing her hands on his broad shoulders. She could feel the corded muscle beneath her fingers and the coarse fabric of his shirt. 

Charlie tilted his head up, his breath tickling her lips. "Are you trying to distract me?"

Lia failed to suppress a smile. "Is it working?"

Charlie tilted his head, his warm eyes crinkling in the corners. "Maybe."

Lia let out a soft laugh and leaned down, pressing her lips to his, his hands traced the underside of her thighs, pulling her closer. A more than welcome distraction.